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Leeds Rhinos v Salford City Reds, Friday 19th February, 8pm

14th February 2010

By Leeds Rhinos

Leeds Rhinos take on Salford City Reds next Friday at Headingley Carnegie looking to avenge one of the biggest shock results in Super League last season.

Last season, Salford secured their first win at Headingley Carnegie in a generation to turn the Rugby League world upside down with a 30-20 win. However, Shaun McRae’s side travel across the M62 looking to bounce back from their own shock result this weekend after becoming Brian Noble’s first scalp as Crusaders RL coach.

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The Salford side includes two former Leeds Academy stars who have made the journey across the Willows in the close season. Ashley Gibson and Jodie Broughton will be desperate to impress on their return to Headingley Carnegie.

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Leeds Rhinos 22 Salford City Reds 10

19th February 2010

By Leeds Rhinos

The Rhinos were grateful to two tries from Keith Senior and one each from Brent Webb and Ian Kirke to see off a determined Salford side.

The result was only finally decided in the last second when a great break by Greg Eastwood was finished off by Ian Kirke to give the scoreline a gloss for the home side.

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Matt Diskin started at hooker whilst Ian Kirke came in for Greg Eastwood in the starting line up with the Kiwi taking his place on the bench.

Salford included Ashley Gibson and Jodie Broughton in their side on their return to Headingley Carnegie as they looked to gain their first win of the season.

The Rhinos came out in determined mood and looked like a side with a point to prove. They took the game to Salford with Jamie Peacock in particular a major threat in the opening exchanges. Leeds spotted a weakness on the Reds right hand side and a high hanging bomb by Sinfield was spilled giving the home side possession on the Reds line. Eventually the ball was moved to Keith Senior who came through on a crash ball and powered his way over the line. Sinfield added the conversion to make it 6-0 after 7 minutes.

Salford though did not let their heads drop and came right back at the Champions. The Rhinos were grateful to two pieces of poor handling when firstly prop Rob Parker and then Gibson dropped the ball with the line at their mercy.

Leeds managed to gain a foothold back in the game after Gibson error but as they tried to create a second try they were guilty of pushing the ball too much in the early phases of the set. There was a good opportunity with 15 minutes to go in the half when a high kick from bomb from Burrow, once again to the Reds left hand side, was plucked out of the air by Ryan Hall but he was unable to get the ball away before he was bundled into touch.

The home side were left to rue those missed chances when Danny Buderus was pulled up for a forward pass to Ryan Bailey on half way. From there Salford managed to work ball down the short side and pass from Irish international Karl Fitzpatrick to Gibson put the former Leeds man away. He still had plenty to do but managed to get passed Brent Webb to score the corner. Stefan Ratchford missed the touchline conversion attempt so the Rhinos maintained a narrow lead.

Leeds responded in the right manner but once again they were their own worst enemy. A brilliant break by Webb got Leeds up to halfway however a knock on at the play the ball gave Salford possession again. They then managed to pin Hall down in his in goal with a kick on the last tackle and then gained another set of six when Kallum Watkins failed to hold on to a grubber kick at the end of the next set ten metres from his line. However, the Rhinos remained determined and crunching tackle by Greg Eastwood and Keith Senior freed up the ball and allowed Leeds to come away from their own line.

The Rhinos came out once again fired up from the re-start and with some tough defence they managed to regain the ball off Salford. Hall produced a weaving run across midfield before Leeds burst down the North Stand side but Kallum Watkins ran out of space in the corner after taking Webb’s pass.

However, Leeds did get a try on their next visit to the Salford line. Again it was defence that turn possession over and two tackles later a high hanging kick by Burrow was plucked out of the air by Webb, who fell down from his catch to touch the ball down. Sinfield added the conversion to make it 12-4 after 46 minutes.

Whilst the bomb had been a key weapon for Leeds, it was from the same tactic that Salford got their second try however it was a howler from the home side. Webb and Danny McGuire collided as both tried to take the kick and it popped up perfectly for Broughton to catch and score between the posts. Ratchford added the conversion to make it 12-10 after 59 minutes.

Leeds responded once again as they looked to retake their lead. Unsurprisingly, it was the high kick that brought about the score as Burrow kicked across half the width of the field. Hall did brilliantly to jump above the defence and knock the ball back into the path of Senior, who crossed for his second try. Sinfield missed the conversion so the lead remained 16-10 after 64 minutes.

Salford refused to lie down though and put pressure on Leeds in the closing stages looking for an equalising score however it was the Rhinos who finished on a high when Eastwood burst through 40 metres out before offloading to Kirke who headed to the corner to score. Sinfield added the conversion to make the final score 22-10 to the Champions.